November 29, 2006 — Alcoa Inc.’s Howmet Products and Services subsidiary plans a $6-million expansion for its Morristown, TN, operation. The project is due to get underway this month and result in an additional 16,000 ft² of space for “core manufacturing capabilities.”

The expansion will be complete midway through next year.

At Morristown, Howmet produces alumina core bodies that are critical to its line of aerospace structures, e.g., airfoils. A plant executive described the level of demand for its products from aerospace customers as “unprecedented,” straining its capacity to keep up with the growth opportunities available in the market.

Howmet manufacturing manager Matt Kilgore detailed: “We are installing a high-temperature tunnel kiln that will exceed the capacity of our existing kiln by approximately 10%. The expansion will also include a full complement of new prebake ovens, computerized numerical control (CNC) machines, and Tempcraft presses.

“This multi-million dollar investment demonstrates to customers that we are committed to supporting their growth during this dynamic cycle of aerospace activity,” said Kilgore.